The concept of federalism — the idea that the federal government’s authority is limited, and other powers retained for the states — is a cornerstone of modern conservatism. But historically, states’ rights have also been used as cover to allow southern states in particular to discriminate against African Americans and other marginalized groups.

The Ethics and Government Oversight Committee is set to meet at 3 p.m. Friday to consider a reworked version of the proposal authored by Ald. Michele Smith, the panel’s chair, and backed by the Chicago Board of Ethics. With the committee’s endorsement, a final vote could come on Wednesday.

From cash payouts to issuing extensive reports and building a bureaucratic system to examine what reparations could look like, here is what some local and state governments have done so far.

A slate of progressive candidates prevailed in Democratic primary contests across the Chicago area, despite facing concerted criticism for backing criminal justice reform efforts. Their success has the potential to reshape the 2023 Chicago municipal elections.

Accusations of witness tampering against former President Donald Trump. Our politics team weighs in on that story and more.

Sri Lanka’s prime minister, who said he’ll step down after a new government is installed, says the island nation’s debt-laden economy has “collapsed” as it runs out of money to pay for food, fuel and medicine.

Illinois’ Department of Children and Family Services has been struggling to find proper placements, particularly for high-needs youth for whom the agency is having to stand in as a pseudo parent. So much so that some children and teens who have had a stint at a psychiatric hospital are there after they’ve been cleared for release because there’s nowhere for them to go. 

The hearing Tuesday was the seventh for the Jan. 6 committee. Over the past month, the panel has created a narrative of a defeated Trump “detached from reality,” clinging to false claims of voter fraud and working feverishly to reverse his election defeat.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Tuesday that he has appointed pediatrician Dr. Sameer Vohra to lead the state health department starting Aug. 1.

If Ald. Ed Burke decides to run for re-election in February 2023, he will do so before being brought to trial on charges he has faced for more than an entire term on the Chicago City Council.

Illinois officials were on hand in Washington, D.C. to commemorate President Joe Biden’s recent signing of a bipartisan gun law.

A’ja Wilson, Breanna Stewart and the rest of the WNBA All-Stars wore Griner’s name and her No. 42 on the back of their jerseys for the second half of Team Wilson’s 134-112 victory over Team Stewart. It was another moment in the league’s continued push for Griner’s release from her detention in Russia.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle spoke to WTTW News following Biden’s White House celebration of the passage of a federal gun safety law that was attended by elected officials, gun control advocates, gun violence survivors and the families of victims.

The Chicago Police Department did not advise the WNBA to limit outdoor events held Saturday and Sunday in conjunction with the league’s all-star game, including a concert by Chicago-native Chance the Rapper, a department spokesperson told WTTW News.

The Ethics Committee plans to hold a hearing, and potentially a key vote, on Wednesday to consider a proposed overhaul of the city of Chicago’s Governmental Ethics Ordinance, without giving members of the public or the news media a chance to review its provisions.

The “celebration” Monday morning at the White House came a week after a gunman in Highland Park killed seven people at an Independence Day parade, a stark reminder of the limitations of the new law in addressing the American phenomenon of mass gun violence.